Last week, Manu and Micah were playing outside near our large pine tree when they wildly exclaimed that they saw a nest in the tree. My boys tend to think a lot of things look like nests. I was quite skeptical, plus, I was busy evening out our front lawn where the snow plow had uprooted rather large chunks. I gave my vocal affirmation and continued to rake. Then, Manu yelled over to me that he sees a bird in the nest. He really wanted me to come and see it and so headed over. To my amazement, there was a bird sitting up high in a nest. Not wanting to scare the bird family, I asked the boys to play in the other side of our house.
About 15 minutes later, I put the two younger boys to bed, and Manu and I got our binoculars and camera to do some further investigation. This time, there were 2 birds! I thought it was a mama and her baby, but after doing some research, I realized it’s most likely a couple who is taking turns sitting on their eggs!
When we first moved up here, there was a particular bird song that we would often hear in our yard. We were sure it was coming from an owl. One of the first things our friends told us when we moved up here, was to make sure we didn’t leave our dog or cats outside after dark. It wasn’t uncommon for owls and other raptors to snatch up small pets. Whenever we’d hear this hooting sound, I’d panic and make sure our pets were indoors. Well, one day, a friend incredulously informed us that it wasn’t coming from an owl.
They were mourning doves.
And we are absolutely stoked that a young family of mourning doves decided to move in to our pine tree!
our tree in front of our house
our new neighbors: still working on their names…
– they are also called the Western Turtle Dove or Rain Dove
– diet consists 99% of seeds
– they are generally 12 inches in length and average 4-6 oz in weight
– pairs are monogamous
– they are prolific breeders (up to 6 broods per season), but very high mortality rate (~50-70%)
– females construct their nests while males bring her all the materials
– clutch size is almost always 2 eggs
– incubation & fledging both take about 2 weeks
– males incubate eggs morning/afternoon shift and females take over during evening/night
– young are fed crop milk by parents
– dedicated parents, if threatened, may perform broken-wing display or other nest-distraction display
– primary predators are diurnal raptors including hawks and falcons
– it is the leading game bird in the U.S. with over 70 million shot annually
– it is Michigan’s official state bird of peace
We’re hoping we’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the babies once they hatch and also during fledging. That would be so exciting! They are such beautiful birds.
fact I learned: it’s not “morning” dove. hehehe. thanks!! 🙂
@bekobeko – HAHA, Al! Well, I never even heard of them until someone up here told me. I heard the bird call first so that gave me a hint. 🙂
awesome. great picture of them. I hear mourning doves all the time… I could’ve told you they wouldn’t eat Bentley or take him up in their talons. :)Very interesting factoids. I thought about the whole “broken wing” thing for a long time (I pondered it on my walk to school.) Who taught birds how to do this? Where did they get the idea? How do they know? I’m amazed that these things are attributed to “nature” and “instinct.” What is instinct, anyway? God is amazing.
Since I forgot to attach a mini to the first comment, here’s another. And thanks, Jude, for your prayers. they have been effectual. God is changing my heart. It’s a miracle. 🙂